‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10′ Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11′ Give us this day our daily bread. 12’And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13’And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

14 ” For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” NASU

What is the will of God, in heaven? What are the conditions existing in heaven? God does not want to make robots out of His children. We are not pawns of His purpose but co-laborers together with Him. He has given us the ability to choose, and in that choice, we demonstrate obedience, trust, and faith. The Original sin is and was Disobedience or Rebellion. We focus on the acts we call sin and develop a mentality of performance rather than relationship. I am not suggesting that the things we call ‘sin’ are to be overlooked, excused, or justified, they are not. They should break our hearts and we should avoid them and resist them. However, far more impactful is our disobedience and distrust that we demonstrate when we turn to the arm of flesh, our ability, our knowledge, our talents, etc.

When we relegate God’s Promises to some other era and deny both His Power and Willingness to be, “the same yesterday, today, and forever” we hurt God’s heart. I am sure He is grieved when we fail to trust Him, take Him at His word, and seek to implement His promises and purposes in our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “…but with God all things are possible.” Then in Mark 9:23 He declared, “All things are possible to him who believes.” He gave His disciples and all believers, as is revealed in what we call the Great Commission, both Authority and Power over all the power of the devil. If the directive or command to take the Gospel to the entire world in every generation is true, then the entire directive is valid and applicable today. Refuse to be short-changed and refuse to allow the devil to steal a part of God’s Covenant, Promise, and Kingdom, from you today!

If we learn to live in a conscious state of awareness of Who God Is and learn to pray without ceasing and to maintain a praise in our hearts toward Him our world will be altered dramatically. If we recognize and come to believe that it is both possible and the desire of the Father for His Kingdom (rule and reign) to be manifest and experience on earth we will view life, people, prayer, and even God differently. No challenge will be insurmountable, and we will begin to view problems as possibilities and opportunities for God to demonstrate Who He Is to the world. What an evangelism tool!

In that atmosphere when we ask, “Give us this day our daily bread.” We ask more than just our food and financial blessings but WHATEVER WE NEED to pursue the purposes of God. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Jesus told the disciples in John 4:34, “My meat (food) is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” Lord, what do I need today to fulfill your purpose for my life today? That’s what I ask for. I don’t ask for riches to consume upon myself. I don’t ask for ease so I will have no opposition. I ask for faith to believe, boldness to do, the courage to dare, and the ability to bring your presence into the lives of those I meet.

Then He addresses what many would put at the top of the list, FORGIVENESS. I believe that one of the reasons He placed this toward the end of the prayer not at the beginning is that God wants us to learn to live with the mindset of “Being Forgiven.” His pardon is complete, and you do not have to keep begging God to forgive what He has forgiven. If we, believers, could learn to live with the Peace that comes with Pardon so completely that we view ourselves as He views us we would have a far greater impact on our world. We cannot see others through God’s eyes until we see ourselves through His eyes and the grid of forgiveness.

Forgiveness, as is revealed in this prayer, is two-fold. It is forgiveness from God, something we receive and forgiveness from us, something we give. Give and you shall receive. Forgiveness and the awareness of that condition make the next request even more powerful to me. “And do not lead us into temptation…” First, God does not tempt us, but He may allow temptation to tempt us. However, if temptation is overpowering then He provides an avenue to escape that and an open door to run to Him. That’s where “deliver us from evil” comes into focus. We live with a confidence that God has provided a way of deliverance and a life of victory “In His Kingdom” for us. Don’t make that heaven or you will live a miserable life on earth. Heaven will be victorious but the victory that we are to win and enforce is lived out here on earth, manifesting Him and doing “the works that He did.” It is being who He says we are!

The sentence in brackets ties it all together, [For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen] Then in verse 14, He reminds us of the power of forgiveness and the danger of unforgiveness.

I am on a quest for “More of God!” I am learning after fifty years of serving and loving Him just how Good He Is and How much He wants to bless His children. I am learning that He not only desires but expects us to Trust and Obey Him and seek Him first and pray for His Kingdom and the manifestation of Heaven’s Atmosphere to be realized here on earth. God is the God of the miraculous and miracles are not only benefit and blessing they are powerful tools of evangelism and weapons to ‘destroy the works of the devil.’ I want all of the devil’s works destroyed!